Chris and Rene Creed of Festus decided to combine their love for bicycling and food and open a business featuring both.
The two expect to soon open Pedal’n Pi, a bike shop and pizza restaurant, at 514 Bailey Road in Crystal City, in a space that has housed other restaurants, most recently the Twin City Deli.
The Creeds said they hope to open their business at the end of February.
In the meantime, the Creeds also are busy lobbying for bicycle-riding facilities and trails to be built in parks around the county.
The Creeds, who formerly owned Gateway Harley-Davidson in St. Louis County, said their interest in bicycle riding, particularly in encouraging youth to take up the activity, sparked their idea for their new business.
“That’s what led us to decide there was a need for a bike shop in town,” said Rene, 46.
Chris, 49, said the idea to also offer pizzas at the shop came later.
“We wanted our bike shop to be different,” he said. “We wanted to include something else we’re passionate about. Food is one of those things.
“We were trying to figure out the concept we wanted to go with when Rene called me and said, ‘Hey, I bought a pizza oven!’ So, our first piece of equipment for our bicycle shop was a wood-fired pizza oven. We keep saying we’re a pizza shop selling bicycles.”
Chris said the business will sell Trek-brand bicycles, at least to start.
“We will sell everything from kids’ bikes to electric bikes, commuter bikes, racing bikes – on- and off-road,” he said.
As far as the pizza side of the business, the Creeds will use their wood-fired oven to make the Neapolitan-style pizzas they will sell.
“It’s a puffy crust with the edge crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside,” Chris said. “The crust is actually the star of the show.”
The menu also will include beer, wine and soda, Rene said.
The shop will have different areas designated for the different parts of the business, Chris said.
“There will be a bike section, a pizza section and a bike service section,” he said. “We’ll have seating for the restaurant. We’re still working on the design.”
The Creeds have eight children, ranging from 1-19, and some of the older children will help out at the shop.
“It will be a family operation,” Chris said.
In addition, the Creeds said they plan to hire five to 10 employees to work there.
The business will be open to the general public, of course, but it will probably draw the most interest from cycling enthusiasts, the Creeds said.
“We want to be a destination spot for people who want to meet here for a ride or after a ride or for people who want to come hang out on Bailey Road-Main Street and get a pizza,” Chris said. “We’re super-excited to be here.”
Creeds promote bicycling
The Creeds also operate a nonprofit organization called Living Life on 2 Wheels, and Express Mart and Home Service Oil recently donated $10,000 to the organization to help fund a feasibility study into the development of bicycle-riding facilities in Jefferson County, as well as a trail system linking the facilities.
“Where we’re at right now are discussions,” Chris said. “We’ve partnered with Express Mart and Home Service Oil. They helped us with a feasibility study with IMBA, the International Mountain Biking Association.”
The Creeds said the COVID-19 pandemic has led more people to turn to bicycle riding as a safe form of recreation since it’s an activity that keeps people socially distanced from one another. With the popularity of the activity on the rise, it makes sense for cities or other entities in the county to develop bicycle facilities in local parks, they said.
“They’re basically bicycle obstacles for kids up to older riders,” Chris said.
He said the feasibility study indicated there are many parks in the county with space suitable for bike facilities.
“We walked all of the area parks to see the potential for bicycle facilities,” Chris said. “The study was encouraging.”
The Creeds said they have talked to some city and county leaders about the idea and intend to speak to more.
“Everybody seems excited about it,” Chris said. “This is in the feasibility study step.”
Jim Berger, a member of the Crystal City Park Board, said he likes the idea of adding bicycle facilities in parks and a trail to link them together.
“Absolutely, I support this,” Berger said. “I absolutely believe our board would be behind this. It would improve safety for cycling, having a trail.”
The Creeds also sponsor youth cycling programs.
“We’ve sponsored the No. 1 amateur road cycling team, Gateway Devo Cycling, for the last 11 years,” Chris said. “The mission of that is to give young riders a chance of chasing their dream of becoming professionals in their sport. We’ve had 15 kids receive pro contracts after leaving the team.”
In 2018, the Creeds also started a cycling program for youngsters with multiple sclerosis.